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Race, Racism and Ramifications for Philanthropy

CNJG's special programming, “Race, Racism and Ramifications for Philanthropy” is a multifaceted, multi-layered learning journey that included a two-part workshop from the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) on diversity, equity, and inclusion, four cultural experiences, and a funders briefing from the Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey. The series also included four facilitated salon-style conversations focusing on health disparities, implicit bias and white privilege, livable moments, and structural racism. Additionally, the CNJG Annual Meeting in both 2016 and 2017 addressed diversity and its value providing an overarching vision.

Our broader objectives for this series were to:

offer a range of different ways to enlighten, engage and educate Council members about structural racism and implicit bias;

provide a deeper understanding of the language, definitions and constructs of racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion;

explore and uncover the long-term effects of institutional and structural racism, and discriminatory policy;

give funders real and effective tools that they can implement in their day-to-day work to combat and mitigate the impact of racism and bias in our communities and neighborhoods;

provide a “safe space” for grantmakers to consider and fully unpack these difficult issues.

CNJG worked directly with a number of well-respected and informed partners and facilitators to provide specific content, expertise, experiences, and lead discussion. This included ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities and its leader Susan Taylor Batten, Dr. Denise Rodgers of Rutgers, Aljira Arts, consultants Tanya Odom and Inca Mohamed, Bethany Baptist Church Rev. Timothy Levi-Jones, and leaders from the Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey.

Throughout the journey we tried to be deliberate in meeting CNJG members “where they are” given their varying degrees of experience and sophistication on this topic. Since this learning journey started in late 2016, there are many more regular conversations and exchanges among CNJG members on the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers has been pleased to bring to our members a variety exceptional thought leaders, tools, facilitators, and resources to assist them as they consider the ramifications of racism in their work.

The Race, Racism and Ramifications for Philanthropy Learning Journey Includes: